Mineral Resources

Mineral Resources of the Southeastern US:

a brief review

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A mineral is a naturally occurring solid with a definite chemical composition

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and crystalline structure that is formed through inorganic processes. Minerals are

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literally the foundations of our everyday world. Not only do minerals make up the

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rocks we see around us in the Southeast, they are used in nearly every aspect of our

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lives. The wide variety of minerals found in the rocks of the Southeast, are used in

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industry, construction, machinery, technology, food, makeup, jewelry, and even the

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paper on which these words are printed.

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Southeast mineral resources contributed significantly to Colonial economies,

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the struggle for independence, and the rise of the United States as a world power.

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The first metal mining by Europeans in the United States was in 1621 at a lead

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deposit in Virginia. The same deposits supplied shot for the Continental Army during

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the American Revolution, and were a point of contention during the Civil War. The

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first gold rush in North America spread across the southern Appalachian Piedmont

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from a small farm in central North Carolina in the early 19th Century.

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During the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries mines in the Southeast were

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generally numerous and small, often producing minerals for local use. Mines were
fewer but larger during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, serving mostly regional ○
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Minerals provide the building
and national markets. Today there are relatively few mines in the Southeast, but the blocks for rocks. For example,
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granite, an igneous rock, is

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existing mines are commonly large or highly specialized operations, producing minerals typically made up of crystals of the
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for the global marketplace. The Southeast is currently a major supplier of zinc, minerals feldspar, quartz, mica
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and amphibole. Sandstone may

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cadmium, germanium, lithium, pyrophyllite, olivine, mica, and feldspar.

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be made of cemented grains of

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feldspar, quartz and mica. The

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minerals and the connections

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Processes Forming Mineral Deposits among the crystals define the color
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and resistance to weathering of a

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All of the 92 naturally occurring elements are present in the Earth’s crust, rock.
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but many of them at very low average concentrations. Elements such as copper
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(Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and even silver (Ag) and gold (Au) are not rare, but they
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are usually widely dispersed through the rocks. Elements are the building blocks of
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minerals, and minerals are the building blocks of rocks. The mineral quartz, for
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example, is made of the elements silicon and oxygen; quartz is also a major
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component of many rocks. Most minerals present in nature are not composed of a
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single element, though there are exceptions such as gold (Au).

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Quartz Eight elements make up (by weight) 99% of the Earth’s crust, with

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Quartz may be one of the most common minerals in oxygen being the most abundant (46.4%) (Figure 6.1). Since silicon (Si)

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the crust, but it does not always appear in the same

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and oxygen (O) are by far the most abundant elements in the crust by

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form. There are a wide variety of different types of

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quartz, including coarsely crystalline and mass, it makes sense that quartz (SiO2, silicon dioxide or silica) is one

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microcrystalline quartz. Onyx, agate, jasper, flint,
of the most common minerals in the Earth’s crust and is found all over
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chert, and petrified wood are microcrystalline varieties
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of quartz. Though agate is naturally banded with the Southeast.

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layers of different colors and porosity, commercial

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Figure 6.1: Mineral percentage by

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varieties of agate are often artificially colored. The mass in the Earth’s crust.
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most common, coarsely crystalline varieties include

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massive quartz veins, the distinct, well-formed crystals

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of ‘rock crystal’, and an array of colored quartz,

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including amethyst (purple), rose quartz (pink), smoky

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quartz (gray), citrine (orange), and milky quartz

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(white).
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The average amount of aluminum The remaining elements in the Earth’s crust occur in very small amounts, some in
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(Al) in the crust is around 8%. concentrations of only a fraction of one percent. Many metallic minerals occur in
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Ore grade deposits are about 25%

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extremely small amounts in the crust. A mineral is called an ore when one or more
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to 30% aluminium, a
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concentration of 3-4 times the

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of its elements can be profitably removed. It is almost always necessary to process

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average aluminium abundance in

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the crust. The amount of copper ore minerals in order to get the useful element.
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(Cu) in the crust is 0.006%.

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Copper ore deposits have grades Metallic vs. Non-Metallic minerals

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of 0.6% to 1.2% at 100-200 times Luster refers to the appearance of the mineral surface in reflected light. Metallic minerals
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the average abundance of copper

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have a luster like an aluminum pan or a dull metal like a rusty nail. Metallic minerals
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in the crust. Minable gold are vital to the machinery and technology of modern civilization. Non-metallic minerals
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deposits have grades as low as 0.1

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do not have the flash of a metal, though they may have the brilliance of a diamond or the
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ounce gold per ton of ore, or about silky appearance of gypsum. Generally much lighter in color than metallic minerals,
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0.003%. Ore grade gold deposits

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non-metallic minerals can transmit light, at least through pieces or edges.

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have a concentration of1500 times

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the average crustal abundance of

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0.0000002%. What distinguishes a regular mineral from a gem? Beauty, durability and
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rarity of the mineral qualify it as a gemstone. Beauty refers to the luster, color,
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transparency, and brilliance of the mineral, though to some degree it is dependent

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on the skillfulness of the cut. Most gems, including tourmaline, topaz, and corundum,
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are durable because they are hard (scratch-resistant.) On the Mohs Scale of
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Hardness, the majority of gemstones are greater than 7. A gem’s value is also
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dependent on the rarity of the mineral. With limited supply (commercially or in

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nature), the value of a gem increases significantly, such as with rubies or diamonds.
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Quartz may have a brilliant luster and be quite durable, but it is extremely common.
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Therefore, quartz has significantly less value as a gemstone, though some

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microcrystalline and colored varieties of quartz have moderate value.

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Mohs Scale of Hardness
In 1824, the Austrian mineralogist, F. Mohs, selected ten minerals to which all other
minerals could be compared to determine relative hardness. The scale became known
as Mohs scale of hardness, and is very useful as a means for identifying minerals or
quickly determining hardness. A piece of glass has a hardness of approximately 5 on
the scale; your fingernail is just over 2. Hardness is important because it helps us
understand why some rocks are more or less resistant to weathering and erosion.
Quartz (7) is a relatively hard mineral, but calcite (3) is significantly softer. Therefore,
it should be no surprise that quartz sandstone is more resistant to erosion and
weathering than a limestone, the primary constituent of which is the mineral calcite.

The mineral deposits of the Southeast range in age from over 1 billion years

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old to just a few thousands or tens of thousands of years. The various mineral

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deposits are related to different types of geologic processes operating in different

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geologic environments. First, let’s consider the processes by which mineral deposits

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form. Forming economically recoverable mineral deposits requires processes that

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can selectively remove desirable elements from up to several cubic miles of rock

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and concentrate them in an area of a few thousand cubic yards. These processes

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may be physical or chemical, and fall into four categories:

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1. Magmatic Processes:
Processes that segregate minor components of magma and concentrate them in a small
volume of rock. This may involve early crystallization of ore minerals from the magma
while most other components remain molten, or late crystallization after most other
components have crystallized (Figure 6.2).

Magmatic processes responsible for the formation of mineral deposits in the Southeast are
associated with a wide variety of igneous intrusions (formed during mountain building
events, rifting and volcanic activity), ranging in composition from granite to gabbro.
Figure 6.2: Magmatic processes
Metamorphism may also cause recrystallization of minerals. Under conditions of very segregate minor components of
high temperature metamorphism, minerals with the lowest melting temperatures in the magma and concentrate them in a
crust may melt to form small quantities of pegmatite magmas. Pegmatites throughout the small volume of rock.
Blue Ridge and Piedmont are mined for silica, mica, feldspar, and locally for gemstones.
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Pegmatites
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Pegmatites are very coarse-grained igneous rocks that formed below the surface usually
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rich in quartz, potassium feldspar, and muscovite mica. Pegmatite magmas are very
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rich in water, carbon dioxide, silicon, aluminum, and potassium, and form as the last
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fluids to crystallize from magma or the first minerals to melt at high temperatures
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during metamorphism. Individual crystals may be less than an inch to as much as 10-
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feet across, and rarely up to 30 or 40 feet. Pegmatites are commonly rich in a wide range
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of rare “incompatible elements” that do not fit readily into the crystal structure of most
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rock-forming minerals. These elements include boron (B), beryllium (Be), lithium
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(Li), tin (Sn), tungsten (W), phosphorus (P), and uranium (U), as well as base metals
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(Cu, Pb, Zn) and precious metals (Au, Ag). These elements commonly form unusual
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silicate, oxide, carbonate, phosphate, and sulfide minerals. Pegmatite deposits of both
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types are abundant throughout the Southeast Blue Ridge and Piedmont.
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2. Hydrothermal Processes:

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Hydrothermal fluids migrate Processes involving hydrothermal solutions (hot water) that extract (dissolve) minor elements

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through the Earth’s crust along

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dispersed through large volumes of rock, transport them to a new location, and precipitate them

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fractures and faults or through in a small area at much higher concentration. Hydrothermal solutions are commonly saline,

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porous and permeable rocks. These

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acidic, and range in temperature from over 600°C to less than 60°C.

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fluids react chemically with the
rocks they come into contact with, ○
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changing the composition of the variety of environments, and have a wide variety of
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rock and that of the hydrothermal compositions, but many are composed in large part
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fluid. As hydrothermal solutions of groundwater or seawater. The hydrothermal fluids

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cool, their dissolved minerals are released from rock or magma during volcanism,
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crystallize in rocks or in veins. metamorphism, igneous intrusions and mountain

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Dissolved minerals may also

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building events, and migrate through cracks and

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precipitate due to chemical pores in surrounding rocks. (Figure 6.3). In addition,

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reactions with adjacent rocks,

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these hot water solutions commonly carry a high

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especially highly reactive rocks like dissolved load of elements that vary with their
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limestone and dolostone.

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temperature and chemistry. Some of these fluids may

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travel very long distances through porous sedimentary

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rocks.
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Figure 6.3: Formation of hydrothermal

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solutions and subsequent mineral deposits.

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3. Sedimentary Processes:
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Processes that extract elements dispersed through large volumes of water and precipitate them
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in a small area at much higher concentration (such as in layers of sediment on the ocean floor.)
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(Figure 6.4)
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Sedimentary mineral deposits form by direct precipitation from seawater, and in the Southeast
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include evaporite salt deposits of West Virginia and the Clinton iron deposits of Alabama.
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“Grade”refers to mineral 4. Weathering and Erosion:

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concentration in a rock or Processes that remove large volumes of rock by physical and chemical breakdown, and concentrate
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sediment. Low grade mineral previously dispersed elements or minerals as a residuum (Figure 6.5).
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deposits have relatively lower

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concentrations of valuable · Placer deposits– Mineral deposits formed by concentration of sediments in streams or in
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minerals in a rock, vein, or coastal areas. Examples include gold, rutile, and monazite placer deposits that occur throughout
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sediment. Low grade deposits are the Southeast such as a river that carries sediment downstream but leaves behind in concentration
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often concentrated further by heavy minerals such as gold.)

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hydrothermal fluids to become

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· Residual weathering deposits – Mineral deposits

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high grade deposits.

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formed by concentration of a mineral resistant to

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weathering while other minerals are eroded and dissolved.

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The erosion of areas of small, low grade gold veins and the
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concentration of the gold as stream sediment or residual

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weathering deposits produced hundreds of placer deposits

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that were mined throughout the Southeastern Piedmont

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during the 19th Century. Weathering and erosion have also

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been important in producing ore grade barite deposits in

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the Georgia Cartersville District, titanium placer sands

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in the North Carolina piedmont, and phosphate deposits of

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the North Carolina and Florida Coastal Plain.

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Many Southeastern mineral deposits are the products of several different

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concentration processes, sometimes operating tens or hundreds of millions of years

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apart. Many of the gold deposits of the Southeastern Piedmont initially formed by

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hydrothermal processes, but at very low grades. Subsequent metamorphism and

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deformation in the region concentrated these low grade deposits together to produce

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high grade vein deposits, as in the Dahlonega District of Georgia. Weathering and

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erosion then further concentrated the gold in surface deposits that were even higher

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grade and more easily mined.

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Common rock-forming minerals

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There are over 3,500 different minerals identified in the world, and a wide variety

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occur in the Southeast. However, the number of common rock-forming minerals is

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much smaller. The most common minerals that form igneous, metamorphic and

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sedimentary rocks (and the ones that you will most commonly see) include quartz,

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feldspar, micas, pyroxenes and amphiboles. Though quartz occurs in several colors,

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it is most commonly white, gray or clear. Feldspar may be a variety of colors, including

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pink, white, and black or gray. Mica, a thinly sheeted, flaky mineral, is most commonly

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either light in color (muscovite) or black (biotite). Pyroxene and amphibole are dark

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green to black, generally needle-like crystals.

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Environments Where Mineral Deposits Form

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There are a variety of geologic environments in which these mineral- depositing
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processes have operated over the past billion years to produce the abundance and ○
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diversity of mineral deposits found in the Southeast today, including:

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see Geologic History

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and Rocks chapter for

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Rift basins (Late Proterozoic and Mesozoic) more on these

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environments.
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Passive continental margins (Precambrian-Cambrian and Jurassic-Present)

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Volcanic island arcs (such as the Taconic volcanic islands and Avalon Terrane in the
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Ordovician and Devonian respectively.)

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· Mountain building events (Grenville, Taconic, Acadian, Alleghanian)

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· Basins formed by mountain building events (ex. Paleozoic Appalachian Basin)

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Distribution of Mineral Deposits in the Southeast

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Now let us put it all together, the various types of processes that form mineral
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deposits and the different geologic environments that have characterized the Southeast
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over the past 1 billion years. We’ll take it step by step, looking at each geologic
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region; it’s geologic history, the processes that have formed mineral deposits, and
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some examples of those deposits.

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